We are excited about IAYT’s new educational pathway, which will help to integrate the profession of yoga therapy into a range of healthcare settings, and we hope you are, too! We wanted to take a moment to provide a few more details on the benefits to our community, including accredited yoga therapy programs, member schools, C-IAYTs, and our general membership. Read on for background on the development of the 300-hour Foundations of Therapeutic Yoga Principles for the Qualified Health Professional pathway and how it raises the profile of the yoga therapy profession.

We should note up front that although the need to train healthcare practitioners in the foundations of therapeutic yoga principles is clear, the yoga therapy educational pathway and the C-IAYT certification continue to represent the pinnacle of excellence within the field of yoga therapy. Those who travel the foundations for health professionals pathway will learn about the scope of practice of C-IAYTs, as well as how to work with them and when to refer to them, and will themselves be eligible to obtain the IAYT-Q designation.

Background

The introduction of this new initiative follows 7-plus years of internal development and committee-level refinement, including guidance and input from IAYT’s board of directors. The Foundations of Therapeutic Yoga Principles for the Qualified Health Professional pathway has been shaped by numerous discussions, collaborative planning with volunteers, and feedback from other stakeholders during this time and earlier. IAYT developed this educational pathway as a response to a pressing need and a notable gap in the integrative healthcare landscape. Our collective aim was to establish a connection between the yoga therapy and licensed healthcare provider (LHCP) communities.*

Currently, several programs provide yoga and “yoga therapy” training to healthcare providers at different levels, with some requiring only a few hours to complete. However, to our knowledge, none of these programs are specifically oriented toward honoring the scope of practice of the C-IAYT. Furthermore, a number of trainings use the term “yoga therapy” but do not meet IAYT’s rigorous standards for accreditation, educational competencies, and definition of the professional practice of yoga therapy. Evidence suggests that health professionals are integrating yoga principles into their direct patient care without adequate training (see, e.g., “ The Use of Yoga in Clinical Practice: A Descriptive Study,” by Adams et al., 2023).

Establishing a mechanism of recognition through IAYT for foundational training that satisfies significant portions of the IAYT educational competencies can help to guarantee that health professionals integrating yoga into their scopes of practice do so at a level that honors and acknowledges the field of yoga therapy. This oversight supports the growth of the emerging profession, strengthens IAYT as a self-regulating body, and works to ensure public protection.

The Opportunity for Yoga Therapy Training Programs—And Yoga Therapists

The foundations for qualified health professionals educational pathway aims to uphold the integrity of comprehensive education and promote awareness of the C-IAYT scope of practice while offering focused training to complement the diverse fields of healthcare practice. This pathway stands apart from IAYT-accredited yoga therapy training programs. Schools offering IAYT-accredited programs are not obligated to provide such pathways. However, for those schools with the expertise and interest to offer such training, the foundations pathway represents an additional business opportunity and a chance to reach a new audience of professionals. This pathway aims to cultivate allies among participants; increase the visibility of the yoga therapy profession in healthcare, particularly among health practitioners in organized systems; and establish referral networks and employment opportunities for C-IAYTs in healthcare settings. We foresee that many individuals who initially opt for the foundations pathway will decide to continue their studies and gain more expertise in the breadth of yoga therapy practice.

Importantly, the clinical competencies for a healthcare professional who chooses to engage with therapeutic yoga in this more focused way, within the bounds of their own existing scope of practice, differ from the competencies required for a yoga therapist offering comprehensive yoga therapy care. These courses will provide orientation to the C-IAYT scope of practice, helping to distinguish what the healthcare provider is learning about therapeutic yoga tools from IAYT-certified yoga therapists’ in-depth work. They will also gain clarity about when to refer to a C-IAYT as they continue to practice under their own existing scope of practice.

This strategic initiative addresses the existing gap in referral streams to IAYT-certified yoga therapists and aligns directly with our mission—learn more in our Winter 2024 Yoga Therapy Today article. Offering education tailored to health allies within our community allows us to shape this engagement collectively rather than having external entities dictate standards for the profession. This educational pathway is a pivotal step for the field, particularly because, as noted, therapeutic yoga instruction is already available outside of this context. Better understanding of a complete practice of yoga therapy, as conducted by C-IAYTs, helps other healthcare providers to more deeply respect our work and helps our profession to take its proper place in supporting physical health, emotional well-being, mental balance, and spiritual consciousness.

Feedback is of paramount importance in every initiative undertaken by a membership association like IAYT, and the Foundations of Therapeutic Yoga Principles for the Qualified Health Professional educational pathway is no exception. We’ve scheduled a formal assessment period to begin in January 2025, 12 months post-launch, to gather member feedback and assess the initiative’s efficacy. This evaluation period will help us to identify adjustments to further align this educational pathway with IAYT’s overarching mission of establishing yoga therapy as a recognized healthcare profession of its own.

*LHCP was the terminology prevalent at the beginning of this process. We have now adopted the term qualified health professional (QHP) because it is more inclusive of international providers and those who work in nonlicensed fields, including practitioners of indigenous forms of healing.

IAYT Board President Molly McManus, Vice President Sue Tebb, and Executive Director Alyssa Wostrel journeyed to India in January 2024 to strengthen ties, build relationships, and participate in conferences and meetings in support of IAYT’s mission and vision.

As Dr. Tebb noted, "IAYT has great opportunities to forge strong relationships with many in India who also want to see yoga used for viable whole-person healthcare."

January 3–7: Bengaluru

The group’s first stop was Bengaluru, where they visited Swami Vivekananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana (S-VYASA University, shown at right) for the 25th International Conference on Frontiers in Yoga Research and its Applications (INCOFYRA). The 2024 INCOFYRA focused on Integrative Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation and afforded an opportunity to stay on S-VYASA’s beautiful campus, meet the welcoming and talented faculty and students, and tour the amazing facilities—which include two hospitals as well as naturopathic and ayurvedic medical schools. 

The IAYT team was delighted to participate in the preconference activities as well as the 3-day conference, which was attended by well over 1,500 people. They were honored to meet with the university’s newly appointed Vice Chancellor Manjunath Sharma, PhD, and Chancellor H. R. Nagendra, PhD. 

During an energizing time at INCOFYRA, IAYT and its hosts collectively affirmed their commitment to the expansion of yoga therapy for the good of public health and wellness and to reduce suffering across the globe. 

IAYT’s S-VYASA hosts also facilitated a number of fascinating meetings and tours, including visits to the university’s research labs, naturopathic and ayurvedic clinics, and integrative inpatient hospitals—which have yoga therapy at their core. One of the many teaching labs at S-VYASA’s School of Ayurveda is shown at left.

January 8–9: Chandigarh

Next, the group hopped a flight to Chandigarh, in Northern India, for the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) conference, directed by Akshay Anand, PhD, DSc. This 2-day conference focused on research challenges and opportunities, with presentations by renowned yoga and yoga therapy researchers to encourage implementation of yoga science outcomes in India as well as via multi-site studies. The local media interviewed Sue Tebb, PhD, MSW, C-IAYT, following her presentation on "The Role of Yoga in Cancer Care in the United States" about her experience using yoga therapy with people beginning chemotherapy for breast cancer. 

Wonderful connections were made during this segment of the trip, and the group was grateful to have the chance to visit PGIMER, which is the second-largest postgraduate education institution in India and has a massive hospital training complex. As was the case at S-VYASA, IAYT’s hosts were generous and thoughtful with their welcoming hospitality, and the group left Chandigarh happy to have met so many dedicated students, researchers, and faculty members.

"The PGIMER expert panel brought together experts in medicine, industry, bioengineering, government, education, and research to work together on the acceptance of yoga in the education and medical systems,” said Sue. “It was an amazing experience for me to listen to all who spoke from their hearts, knowledge, and experience of the importance of yoga for the overall health of people." She has continued to engage with colleagues from this event to develop a postconference paper on integrating yoga into public healthcare. 

The conferences generated strong interest from the local press.

January 10–11: Puducherry

The final leg of the journey began with a flight from Chandigarh to Chennai for a short road trip to Puducherry to meet with Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani, MBBS, MD (AltMed), C-IAYT, at his ashram. A quick visit blossomed into a wonderful 3 hours at Dr. Bhavanani’s beachside compound, during which the IAYT group had the good fortune to receive the blessing of his mother, Param Pujya Ammaji Meenakshi Devi Bhavanani. The team was also able to express their deep gratitude to Ananda, one of the very first C-IAYTs in India, for his long-time commitment to both IAYT and his leadership with the Indian Yoga Association.

I’d like to invite you to take a few moments to reflect with me as I share some of the highlights of IAYT’s remarkable journey over the course of 2023. Even as the year has been one of accomplishments for our organization, we are keenly aware of the backdrop of global tumult—and ever grateful for our yoga practices and the possibility of sharing them with more and more people. Our work has real value to support healing and a return to innate wholeness, and I consider myself fortunate to be part of the efforts to spread yoga therapy far and wide.

Everything we do at IAYT supports one or more of our strategic aims, and those aims in turn support a refreshed mission of advancing yoga therapy as a recognized health profession. Read on to learn how, with the support of our member community, we worked toward our goals this year and are looking forward to the next.

Milestones for the Field

I am delighted to announce that an accreditation standards and competency review is well underway. This project, which includes input from volunteers from programs around the world, will ensure continuous improvement of the quality of yoga therapy education. With 70 IAYT-accredited yoga therapy training programs and an impressive 94% re-accreditation rate in 2023, we are setting high standards for excellence in the field.

Notably, we are also launching 300-hour programs on Foundations of Yoga Principles for Qualified Health Practitioners. We completed a pilot of these “QHP Programs” this year and will be opening accreditation applications in spring 2024, all in service of expanding the integration of yoga therapy into varied environments and creating new opportunities for C-IAYTs—the more QHPs experience the benefits of yoga within their own scope of practice, the more they will support including yoga therapists as part of interprofessional healthcare teams.

In a year marked by strength and growth, we have certified more than 350 graduates from IAYT-accredited training programs, making this our most robust year yet on that front. It was a busy time for recertification, too: We received more than 1,680 recertification applications, and they are still coming in! Thank you all for upholding the integrity of our profession.

Over 100 C-IAYTs voluntarily took the Certification Exam at an initial discounted rate (and for CE credit!). An objective exam is the next step in the maturation of yoga therapy as a recognized profession, and we are thankful to everyone who has volunteered to assist with our development efforts since 2019.

The IAYT tech team has initiated system improvements for both accreditation and the certification exam, marking a significant step forward in enhancing our internal processes. Through a “pain points pulse” approach, we’re addressing challenges across departments, increasing automation, and ensuring a smoother experience for members.

Finally, in another move to streamline our operations, we transitioned to a 100% virtual team. Relinquishing our physical office space in Arkansas was a strategic decision aimed at reducing overhead costs while maintaining efficiency.

Reaching Out…

Our community is expanding! IAYT has had a healthy increase in new members in 2023, and we anticipate continued growth in 2024. This growth is not just in numbers—it’s also evident in increased connections and engagement within our community. More individuals than ever joined our online sanghas, town halls, and live events through social media, fostering a sense of unity and shared purpose.

Likewise, our communication channels have witnessed strong growth, particularly on LinkedIn, where our group has expanded to more than 17,000 members—an increase of over 2,000 people this year alone. As we share more about IAYT and about the profession of yoga therapy, we are encouraged to continue to see significant interest and engagement across our social media channels.

IAYT’s annual peer-reviewed journal, the International Journal of Yoga Therapy, continues to attract high-quality scholarship that advances the field for current professionals and those yet to come. And we’ve completely redesigned Yoga Therapy Today magazine for a fresh look and easier reading, with more varied perspectives than ever.

…And Building Connections

In other development news, IAYT is again supporting the North American Yoga Therapy Workforce Survey to gain insights into how yoga therapists work. This study replicates one conducted 5 years ago—also supported by IAYT—when yoga therapist certification was in its infancy. With established criteria for qualification as a yoga therapist and professionalization measures such as the C-IAYT Code of Ethics and Scope of Practice, we now aim to assess changes in the field since 2017. The data from both surveys will offer crucial insights for IAYT, the profession it represents, and our integrative health partners. If you are a yoga therapist practicing in the United States or Canada, please take the survey if you haven’t already!

As we strive to connect with our international members, IAYT is proud to carry forward Global Yoga Therapy Day (GYTD), founded by Ann Marie Grace (neé Johnston). Celebrated each year on August 14, GYTD 2023 was a resounding success, with more than 1,200 participants joining in from 50 countries. We hosted expert speakers from eight countries in time zone–spanning virtual presentations focused on professional development during these challenging times. The event was free, with an optional request for donation—I’m pleased to report that more than 60 new donors supported the event.

In other conference news, our annual membership conference, the Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research (SYTAR), sold out in Reston, Virginia, this past June! And our call for proposals for SYTAR 2024 garnered far more submissions than we’ve ever seen—making for some very difficult decisions for our Selection Committee—and we’re looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible in Scottsdale, Arizona, June 20–22, 2024.

Through tuition assistance and travel grants, IAYT supported increased accessibility for SYTAR 2023 and for our Symposium on Yoga Research (SYR), held in October at the Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health. Tuition assistance is one of the ways we demonstrate IAYT’s commitment to inclusivity through our routine operations. We’re also seeking ways to provide a high-quality experience for those who are unable to attend our conferences in person.

Visions for the Future

As part of our commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA), a demographically diverse group has been selected for IAYT’s newest standing committee. Launched in October 2023, the DEIA Committee has begun meeting monthly to drive positive change within IAYT. Learn more about our dedication to making yoga therapy accessible to all on the DEIA timeline, which showcases milestones and actions from IAYT’s 30-plus-year journey.

This year we also engaged in a process with the IAYT board and staff leadership team to refresh the long-time mission statement and formally create a vision statement. The mission of advancing yoga therapy as a recognized health profession acknowledges how far we’ve already come and emphasizes our ongoing commitment to advancing the field.

And our new vision statement looks to a future where yoga therapists continue to contribute their expertise to healing settings of all kinds, expanding their reach for the benefit of all:

In the world envisioned by IAYT, yoga is routinely considered in settings around the world as a therapeutic option for physical health, emotional well-being, mental balance, and spiritual consciousness.

In short, this year has been one of immense progress and achievement for IAYT.

We are blessed to have a dedicated staff, wonderful volunteers, and an experienced and committed board of directors, all of whom I have the pleasure of working with every day to advance the emerging profession of yoga therapy. And I want to recognize each of you, our thousands of members, for your dedication to yoga therapy and your commitment to making a difference in the world. Thank you.

We will carry this wonderful momentum forward as we look ahead to 2024 and beyond, united in our dedication to making a positive impact on the health and well-being of individuals worldwide.

With gratitude for your continued commitment and support,

Alyssa Wostrel, MBA
IAYT Executive Director

Seating this committee would not have been possible without the dedication of several of IAYT’s board members. Board President Molly McManus and Members Marsha Banks-Harold, Janet Caldwell, and Robin Rothenberg, together with Executive Director Alyssa Wostrel, drafted the board charge, committee bylaws, and other essential infrastructure over the past year and a half. We offer huge thanks to them for helping IAYT to reach this milestone, and an additional deep bow of gratitude to Janet and Robin, who led the committee selection process and helped to review applications and interview candidates. We are also grateful to Board Vice President Sue Tebb and additional Subcommittee Members for their support in finalizing the DEIA Committee selection. The passion and commitment of each of these individuals is palpable, and we thank them for their contributions and for all they continue to do for IAYT.

Matra Raj, a past president of IAYT’s board of directors who also played a pivotal role spearheading the evolution of IAYT’s commitment to DEIA, will serve as a nonvoting advisory member of the committee. Additional nonvoting members of the committee are Executive Director Alyssa Wostrel, Board Liaison Robin Rothenberg, and Staff Liaison Dominique Ferrera Hawkins.

We could not have achieved this pivotal milestone without the support of the entire board of directors and DEIA subcommittee members, IAYT staff and community members, as well as the foundational efforts and guidance of IAYT’s DEI Task Force. 

We look forward to sharing more in the months to come as the DEIA Committee’s work gets underway!

Learn more about IAYT’s evolving commitment to DEIA in the organization’s DEI Competencies, published in 2022.

The purpose of this survey is to describe the North American (defined as the United States and Canada) yoga therapy workforce. The survey will generate foundational information to help us understand who yoga therapists are and how they work, along with the characteristics of the profession. Your response will be critical in helping to guide future education and research. We hope that you will take the time to share your experience and opinions!

Need for the Research

Yoga therapy is an emerging healthcare profession with newly created standards as well as accreditation and credentialing processes, respectively, for yoga therapy training programs and practitioners. IAYT defines yoga therapy as “The professional application of the principles and practices of yoga to promote health and well-being within a therapeutic relationship that includes personalized assessment, goal setting, lifestyle management, and yoga practices for individuals or small groups.” At present, little formal research describes the yoga therapist workforce.

Considering this knowledge gap, this survey aims to describe the North American yoga therapy workforce in terms of: (a) socioeconomic characteristics (e.g., age, race, ethnicity, gender, education, household income); (b) practice characteristics (e.g., trainings, certifications, yoga therapy styles, clinical settings, frequency, duration); and (c) income and employment characteristics (e.g., cost of classes and sessions, hours teaching, employment type, income earned from yoga therapy work). This research will help to inform education providers, IAYT, other yoga organizations, and the healthcare field about current yoga therapy practitioner characteristics in the workforce, as well as provide future directions for yoga therapy research, education, and practice.

Survey Eligibility and Details

If you are currently practicing as a yoga therapist in North America, we are seeking your help to participate in this unique survey. Participation is voluntary. You also have the right to withdraw from the study at any time without repercussion. We want to emphasize that there are no “right or wrong” answers to the questions. Your contributions will be valuable in improving our understanding of the pr of yoga therapy in North America. And, you contribution would be most valuable in improving our understanding of yoga therapy practice in North America.

As a token of gratitude for your time, those who complete the anonymous survey will be entered into a lottery to win a 1-year IAYT membership.

The questionnaire will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. Please note that all submitted information will be anonymous, and all research data will be stored in a password-protected database until analysis for publication. Findings from the study will be published in a peer-reviewed journal, disseminated to professional associations, and presented at conferences. These publications and presentations will not disclose any personal details, and data will only be reported in summarized form. The data collected for this study will not be used for any other purposes except those described above.

If you have any questions relating to this study, please contact Atiera Abatemarco at aabatemarco@muih.edu. Address any concerns relating to the conduct of this study to the chair of the Maryland University of Integrative Health Institutional Review Board, Marybeth Missenda, at mmissenda@muih.edu.

TAKE THE SURVEY

Thank you for your interest and support!

Research Partners

This project is being conducted in partnership with IAYT and researchers from Maryland University of Integrative Health and Southern California University of Health Sciences:

Atiera Abatemarco, MPH, CHES, RYT-200
Instructor
Maryland University of Integrative Health

Steffany Moonaz, PhD, RYT-500, C-IAYT
Associate Research Director
Southern California University of Health Sciences

Daryl Nault, MS
Assistant Professor + Data Management/Analysis
Maryland University of Integrative Health

Pamela Stokes Eggleston, MBA, MS, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT
Instructor
Maryland University of Integrative Health

Kellie Finn, MS, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT
Instructor
Maryland University of Integrative Health

Marlysa Sullivan, PT, DPT, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT
Instructor
Maryland University of Integrative Health

Jessica Buck
Yoga Therapy Graduate Student
Maryland University of Integrative Health

James Snow, DCN
Department Chair, Nutrition and Herbal Medicine
Maryland University of Integrative Health

THE CALL FOR PROPOSALS IS NOW CLOSED—SEE YOU AT SYTAR 2024!

Share your expertise at IAYT’s next Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research (SYTAR)! The 2024 conference will be held in Arizona June 20–22, at the Scottsdale Plaza Resort & Villas.

IAYT is seeking dynamic presenters to offer high-quality professional development and outstanding personal practice experiences at our annual SYTAR conference, which brings together yoga therapists, yoga therapy students, and integrative health professionals like no other event.

• AFTERNOON SESSIONS are a chance to actively engage with attendees and dive deep into a range of topics of interest to the yoga therapy community. 
• MORNING PRACTICES are an opportunity for attendees to engage in personal practice while perhaps learning something new to inspire further study and work with clients.

Please read the submission requirements carefully and submit your single best proposal for an afternoon session OR a morning practice via the links above. Submissions must be received by October 12, 2023.

See you at SYTAR 2024!

Learn more about this new opportunity to engage as a volunteer member of the DEIA Committee below.

For any general questions about the DEIA Committee launch or application process, please contact us.

We are pleased to announce an opportunity for C-IAYTs, yoga therapy students in training, and others who are passionate about DEIA to take on a leadership role by serving on IAYT’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Committee! This is a new standing committee with a charge from the IAYT Board of Directors.

IAYT values DEIA across the organization, including as related to its individual and school members and its programs. We acknowledge that diverse representation matters and is key to sustainability of the profession and, more broadly, to foster a more just and equitable world.

DEIA has been underrepresented in yoga therapy. IAYT’s newly established DEIA Committee will strive to support the organization in continuing to create a culture and community that reflect global diversity through the incorporation of DEIA in the practice of yoga therapy.

The DEIA Committee advises and provides a route for accountability for IAYT in matters of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Through planning, guidance, and recommendations, the committee supports IAYT in the implementation of the organization’s DEIA competencies and ensures that these competencies are reflected in programming, outreach, publications, and policies at the board, departmental, membership, and committee levels. (Please review IAYT’s DEI Competencies. This living document, first published in early 2022, refers to DEI without accessibility in the title; the update to include the term reflects the ongoing learning in which we are all engaged.)

IAYT’s volunteer committee members represent diverse educational and professional backgrounds. They serve for 3-year terms and may serve consecutive terms. The DEIA Committee will consist of six voting members: It is preferred that five members hold the C-IAYT credential or are enrolled in an IAYT-accredited yoga therapy training program and one member is from the general public and has no professional involvement with yoga, yoga therapy, or ayurveda. Additionally, IAYT’s executive director, a staff liaison, and a board liaison will serve on the committee as non-voting members.

Applications to serve on the DEIA Committee will be accepted from June 20–July 11, 2023.

Review the Committee Member Responsibilities & Application

A fresh rush of energy has imbued the start of 2023 at IAYT! As I write this message at the end of the first quarter, I am sure many of you feel the same way I do—excited to embark on new adventures and opportunities. We’re taking a strategic view to help us prepare for growth and change, and IAYT as an organization is stronger than ever!

Volunteerism is surging. A standing committee on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) will be launched by the end of the second quarter to help us continue the work of building a diverse profession. Membership numbers are trending up. And in 2022 we certified more graduates from IAYT-accredited programs than ever before. We also created two new positions to support IAYT’s growth: Marita Greenidge, MBA, RYT-200, is now marketing and communications manager, and Beth Whitney-Teeple, PhD, C-IAYT, is development manager. Our development efforts resulted in total donations to IAYT’s various funds (see www.iayt.org/donate ) that well exceeded our expectations. Although we have much more to do—and there will always be more needs to address—we’re on a firm foundation.

Last year IAYT’s planning process also guided careful growth that will help to position yoga therapists to participate in rapidly evolving healthcare landscapes around the world. Here are a few promising areas:

• At its core, the whole-person health framework is inclusive of yoga and yoga therapy. Learn more about whole health, a phrase you’ve likely been hearing a lot lately, through the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health . The recent report “Transforming Health Care to Create Whole Health: Strategies to Assess, Scale, and Spread the Whole Person Approach to Health,” from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, amplifies the critical need for pathways to a system-wide approach to whole-person health. This report is encouraging news for integrative healthcare worldwide, and we clearly see opportunities for yoga therapists as providers of whole-person care.
• IAYT has submitted an application for a taxonomy code, which would enable C-IAYTs in the United States to obtain a yoga therapy–specific National Provider Identifier number, and formed a working group to support next steps toward an application for a Category III CPT code to describe yoga therapy services in clinical settings. These benchmarks may inform policy decisions in other countries related to the advancement of yoga therapy in healthcare.
• Emerging fields such as yoga therapy are now represented in the Emerging Professions Council at the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine , of which IAYT is a dues-paying organizational member.
• Launch of our Certification Exam represents the fruition of years of work to strengthen the C-IAYT credential. The exam requirement will also help other healthcare providers and other stakeholders to understand the distinct profession of yoga therapy and provide an objective baseline for the public when seeking care.
  
  

As 2023 continues, so, too, does IAYT’s commitment to international members, accredited programs, and member schools. One area where I’m focused is the strengthening of connections with the leaders of other international associations to build relationships and increase the visibility of C-IAYTs, including as conference speakers. We’ll also be carrying forward Global Yoga Therapy Day, begun several years ago by Ann Marie (Johnston) Grace, C-IAYT, to raise the yoga therapy profession’s profile worldwide. Save the date now to join us online on August 14, 2023, for practice and learning in community! And of course we hope to see you in person at this year’s Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research (SYTAR) in Reston, Virginia!

In gratitude,
Alyssa

The study, "Expanding First-Line Options for Depression and Matching Treatments to Patients: Hatha Yoga vs. Behavioral Therapy," speaks directly to patient-centered care, an essential aspect of the whole health paradigm now being embraced by health systems worldwide. Within this integrative framework, yoga therapy has a meaningful role to play and opportunities for recognition as an emerging profession. 

Drs. Sylvia and Uebelacker explain,

We are doing this research to compare an online group yoga program to telehealth psychotherapy for treatment of depression. . . .

The type of telehealth psychotherapy we will use is called behavioral activation (BA). Researchers have shown that BA is effective in decreasing depressive symptoms. BA is considered a first-line treatment for depression. We want to find out if yoga can be just as helpful as BA for depression.

We also want to understand why some people may benefit more from one program or the other.

The results may help to strengthen evidence that yoga is an effective intervention for depression, thus expanding options for people who are suffering. The study, known as COMPARE, is sponsored by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), a nonprofit granting organization established as a component of the U.S. Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. IAYT is COMPARE's primary yoga organization stakeholder.

Other ways IAYT supports yoga research include the organization's significant work to produce the annual Symposium on Yoga Research; publish the peer-reviewed, PubMed-indexed International Journal of Yoga Therapy; and provide research literacy resources through Yoga Therapy Today.

If you know of someone (not a regular practitioner of yoga) with depression or depressive symptoms who lives in Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, or Rhode Island, consider letting them know about the study. Find more information on the COMPARE landing page.

As we prepare to welcome a new year, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the many accomplishments of our 2022—and to invite you specifically to be part of the movement to make yoga a respected, accessible therapy around the world in 2023 and beyond.

First, a little cheer of appreciation for all of us! We’ve witnessed tremendous resilience and strength during these past few years, and 2022 exemplified those attributes in IAYT’s membership as well as our small but incredibly hardworking staff, the volunteer committees, and the board of directors.

This year saw

• more graduates of IAYT-accredited programs in a single year than ever before;
• new members-only webinars such as our well-attended RAINN training, Town Halls, and Up and-Coming Sanghas for yoga therapy students and those new to certification;
• our first C-IAYT in Ukraine, a welcome beacon in a country in need;
• Switzerland’s first IAYT-accredited yoga therapy training program;
• the first member schools in Wales and Ukraine; and
• many robust, enriching conversations at our conferences and in our publications.

Indeed, we’ve been busy sharing about yoga therapy—and the talented individuals who practice this art—far and wide. To help with visibility in integrative healthcare and enable C-IAYTs to accurately represent themselves in these spaces, for example, we have applied to the U.S. National Uniform Claim Committee for a taxonomy code. A taxonomy code is necessary for individual healthcare providers to obtain a National Provider Identifier (NPI) number, and we hope to have an update about the application’s progress soon. This effort will also enhance our understanding of similar needs internationally.

IAYT has also expanded our social-media presence and sponsored events such as the Accessible Yoga Conference and the Lifestyle Medicine Summit. And our webinar with the Society for Integrative Oncology was their most-attended ever. Please tag us on social media, pass along our posts, and use the hashtags #yogatherapy, #ciayt, and #yogatherapist—we’re always on the lookout for noteworthy news and stories for you to share. We appreciate it when you tell your colleagues and referrers about IAYT, too.

It was no small feat to relaunch our own in-person conferences, and we were thrilled to re-welcome attendees to the Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research in June and the Symposium on Yoga Research in October. I'm well aware of the important space these events occupy on yoga and integrative health professionals' calendars—and of the importance of gathering together. I was so pleased that despite the challenges this year's programming at both SYTAR and SYR upheld IAYT's tradition of depth and quality. If you weren't able to join us, you can still enjoy much of the SYTAR content with the On Demand package.

Alongside the other key areas of focus for our organization, in 2022 we continued the work of building an integrated culture that fully supports diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. The DEI Competencies published this year are a valuable guide for growth and engagement, and I encourage you to review its many resources.

IAYT’s DEI Task Force was responsible for many important achievements from 2020 to 2022, including initiating the competencies. A subcommittee of the board is planning for the launch of a formal DEIA Committee, and recommendations from the task force are informing the next steps. We expect IAYT’s newest standing committee to launch in the first quarter of 2023. Watch for details in our e-newsletter.

Acknowledging and honoring our differences makes us a stronger organization. The 2022 Seva Award, presented with Give Back Yoga Foundation, featured the most diverse pool of applicants—and winners—to date. Learning about the inspiring, impactful work of all of the Seva Award applicants was a highlight of our year. If you or someone you know is bringing yoga to those who have not had full access to these practices, we invite you to apply for the 2023 award (or pass along the link).

Although seva isn’t about recognition, we appreciate the opportunity the award provides to honor those amplifying the profession of yoga therapy in such meaningful ways. We are also thankful for the continuing friendship of Give Back Yoga and the other organizations that help IAYT to spread the word about the promise of yoga therapy and the professionals who provide it.

Another highlight of our year was co-hosting, with Give Back Yoga Foundation, Eat Breathe Thrive, and Yoga of 12-Step Recovery, the successful conference “Yoga and Recovery: Healing from Addiction and Eating Disorders.” As we consider 2023, we’re eager to build on these relationships and look forward to carrying on the Global Yoga Therapy Day; participation from IAYT members will be essential to continuing this recognition of yoga therapists worldwide, so please keep an eye out for more from our communications team and newly designated development manager for ways you can support this initiative.

We understand how much work remains to be done even as we celebrate this year’s progress, accomplishments, and lessons learned. Our members at every level and our generous donors help us to fulfill IAYT’s mission, for which we are most grateful. Your tax-deductible contribution—of any size—ensures that our nonprofit organization can support and grow the field of yoga therapy for all who may benefit from the practices.

In 2023, all of us at IAYT look forward to continued growth and innovative engagement, whether at SYTAR or SYR or online at our town halls or other member webinars. Stay in touch, and be well.

With warmest wishes for the new year,

Alyssa Wostrel, MBA
IAYT Executive Director

Share your expertise at IAYT’s Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research, June 15–17, 2023, just outside Washington, D.C., in Reston, Virginia!

IAYT is seeking dynamic presenters to offer high-quality professional development at our annual SYTAR conference, which brings together yoga therapists, yoga therapy students, and integrative health professionals like no other event. 

Apply for the ONE category you feel best showcases your offering; please choose the topic and format about which you’re most passionate.

Proposals are due October 11. Details and links to submit are here:

• Workshops
• Morning Practices
• Afternoon Sessions
  

See you at SYTAR 2023!

Global Yoga Therapy Day (GYTD) was started in 2019 by Ann Marie Johnston, founder of Yoga for Better Health. Ann Marie wanted to unite yoga therapists to build the international profile of the profession and its healing promise. Now, consistent with her generous support of the field of yoga therapy, Ann Marie has entrusted the continuation of GYTD to IAYT.   “In essence, GYTD was meant to be a  collaborative, collective, global educational effort for the field of yoga therapy,” said Ann Marie. “Our aim was to  start a global movement where yoga therapists around the world worked together to lift awareness of and educate about the difference of yoga therapy.”

Leigh Blashki, former IAYT board member, lauds Ann Marie for her vision in developing GYTD. “When [Ann Marie] first developed and launched the GYTD in 2019, she was unsure whether it would be a one-off or ongoing event,” he explained, “but with her trademark perseverance, she decided to offer it the following year—and building upon that, she offered it again as an expanded event in 2021.”

A brief look back…

GYTD 2019 featured a team of volunteers and contributors from around the world who mounted an 8-week campaign on “The Difference of Yoga Therapy.” According to Ann Marie, “The original goal was to motivate yoga therapists themselves to collectively and collaboratively spend 1 day educating their local communities about yoga therapy.”

That first year, 450 yoga therapists from 36 countries reached out to their communities online and in person to host events and educational webinars. In Melbourne, Australia, a live event at the Olivia-Newton John Cancer Wellness & Research Centre kicked off the day, and the GYTD Facebook page hosted global thought leaders in a 16-hour event, “Yoga Therapy Around the World.” (Check out a few highlights on IAYT’s yogatherapy.health blog.) 

For GYTD 2020, more than 2,200 people participated in a 24-hour online summit featuring 35 presentations, and 2021 saw GYTD evolve into a conference on how yoga therapy could be holistically used to create better health and well-being. With its theme of “Therapy for the Ages,” the 3-day event reached an audience from 41 countries and raised more than $15,000 for that year’s charitable partner, Give Back Yoga Foundation. 

And a look ahead…

“We now have a really solid, well-respected, well-received annual event,” noted Leigh. “I think all of us in the fields of yoga and yoga therapy can be grateful for this rich legacy of Ann Marie’s work.”

IAYT joins Leigh in celebrating Ann Marie for championing this wonderful initiative. We intend to continue the development of GYTD as we work to firmly establish yoga as a recognized and respected therapy. In celebration of the day this year, we are offering our 2022 SYTAR On Demand package at $199—get the reduced price (down from $395) beginning August 14. (Sale ends at midnight PT on August 18.) We also encouraged our members to share via social media how they were bringing yoga therapy to their communities. 

See you in 2023 for a grand day of building global awareness of yoga therapy! 

Promoting diversity, supporting equity, and cultivating inclusive practices are central aims of IAYT, as set out in the 2021–2024 strategic plan . Our competencies in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are foundational for efforts to challenge and dismantle discrimination, systemic barriers, and ignorance in our organization. This ever-evolving work focuses on building new resources, cultivating compassion, amplifying diverse member voices, developing community partnerships, and accelerating our progress toward improving the organization as a diverse, equitable, accessible, and inclusive community.

These competencies, a byproduct of IAYT's strategic plan, result from the extensive work done by Marilyn Peppers-Citizen, PhD, C-IAYT, and Matra Majmundar, OTR/L, AWC, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, to improve DEI in the organization over the past few years. The competencies were shaped through research and support from a range of professional organizations as well as the courageous conversations held through the work of the DEI Task Force. Marilyn Peppers-Citizen and Danielle Atkinson, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, drafted the competencies, which have been endorsed by IAYT's board and will be part of the ongoing review work of the DEI Task Force and subsequent standing committee.

The following competency areas are excerpted from a guiding document that includes additional background and resources. Review the entire document, which will always remain a work in progress, at iayt.org/DEI

At IAYT, we continually endeavor to approach all of the work we do through a lens of

1. cultural competence,

2. understanding microaggressions,

3. understanding implicit bias,

4. cultivating compassion, and

5. deliberately leveraging organizational learning.

1. Cultural Competence

Put simply, cultural competence is the ability to understand, accept, and interact with individuals of different backgrounds and cultures. Cultural competence incorporates communication, action, beliefs, thoughts, and values diversity of ethnicity, ethnic background, and religious beliefs, as well as an appreciation of social values; it is action-oriented toward generating changes and learning.¹ Cross-cultural attitude strategies that include communicating with respect and recognizing others’ values² will help us to develop and enhance our ability to practice effective communication in intercultural situations.³

As an organization, IAYT will

• practice openness, demonstrating acceptance of difference (suhkha);

• be flexible, demonstrating acceptance of ambiguity;

• demonstrate humility by suspending judgment and being open to learning (amanitvam and namrata);

• be sensitive to others, appreciating cultural differences;

• have a spirit of curiosity, seeing opportunities to learn in different situations (jijnasa);

• practice positive change or action, demonstrating successful interactions (karma);

• commit to continuous learning and growing (bhavanatha); and

• embody compassion, empathy, and loving kindness (karuna and maitri).

These strategies will guide us in developing cultural competence. As an international organization, IAYT interacts and has relationships with diverse people and groups. Developing personal cultural competence is required so that our members feel valued and understood. This competency represents a commitment to svadhyaya, self-study, to avoid asmita, the false identification that can also include cultural appropriation/misappropriation.

Attributes of cultural competence include

• self-knowledge and awareness about one’s own culture,

• awareness of one’s own cultural worldview,

• experience and knowledge of different cultural practices,

• a welcoming attitude toward cultural difference, and

• acknowledgment of source cultures.

2. Understanding Microaggressions

Microaggressions are the everyday verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults—whether intentional or unintentional—that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely on their membership in a marginalized group.⁴ Microaggressions can be related to many intersecting aspects of identity.

Microaggressions are acts of violence, and yoga encourages us to commit to nonviolence (ahimsa). Understanding microaggressions transcends intellectual knowledge and encourages us, as individuals and a community, to respond to such noninclusive behaviors and acts of violence.

3. Understanding Implicit Bias

Implicit bias⁵ refers to attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. It is a form of avidya. These biases can be both favorable and unfavorable assessments and are activated involuntarily and without an individual’s awareness or intentional control. Addressing implicit and unconscious bias requires

• knowing how to participate in a difficult conversation,

• doing our own work,

• reimagining equity and access, and

• critical practices for anti-bias education.

4. Cultivating Compassion

Cultivating compassion, karuna, includes self-compassion, which involves caring for and celebrating one’s identity, needs, and beliefs. This care and celebration must be done in a way that does not degrade someone else’s identity, needs, or beliefs in the process. This competency recognizes that disagreements may occur, but they need not include disrespect. Cultivating compassion emphasizes the fundamental importance of finding common ground to engage in courageous conversations.

Compassion-based communication encourages us to remain present and engaged, even with those with whom we have disagreements, in a way that acknowledges everyone’s voice and so that no one feels silenced or ignored. By cultivating compassion in our attention, thinking, feeling, and behavior we learn to grow as a community.

5. Deliberately Leveraging Organizational Learning

The concept of organizational learning recognizes that the way in which learning about DEI takes place is affected by the context of the organization and its culture. Organizations do not perform the actions that produce learning. Rather, board members and other volunteers, staff, and individual members of the organization behave in ways that lead to organizational learning, although organizations can create the conditions that allow such learning to occur.

IAYT promotes fair treatment and accessibility for all of its stakeholders. Our inclusive workplace environment is built on mutual trust, respect, and dignity and incorporates DEI in its daily work. We pledge to identify and eliminate barriers to equal opportunity in the workplace.

Yoga therapy is a growing field, and we recognize that we must invest in education and training that integrate DEI competencies and learning to build a socially and culturally responsible field.

References

1.    Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, National Center for Cultural Competence. (n.d.). Definitions of cultural competence. Curricula enhancement module series. Retrieved Jan. 14, 2022, from https://nccc.georgetown.edu/curricula/culturalcompetence.html

2.    Windon, S., & Lamo, T. E. (2021, Dec. 12). What is cultural competence and how to develop it? Penn State Extension. Retrieved Jan. 14, 2022, from https://extension.psu.edu/what-is-cultural-competence-and-how-to-develop-it

3.    Monash University. (2021, Jan. 29). What is intercultural competence? Monash Intercultural Lab. Retrieved Jan. 14, 2022, from www.monash.edu/arts/monash-intercultural-lab/about-the-monash-intercultural-lab/what-is-intercultural-competence

4.    UCLA Diversity & Faculty Development. (2014, Nov. 12). Tool: Recognizing microaggressions and the messages they send. University of California Santa Cruz. Retrieved Jan. 14, 2022, from https://academicaffairs.ucsc.edu/events/documents/Microaggressions_Examples_Arial_2014_11_12.pdf

5.    The Ohio State University. (2012, May 29). Understanding implicit bias. Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity. Retrieved Jan. 14, 2022, from https://kirwaninstitute.osu.edu/article/understanding-implicit-bias

The U.N. Children's Fund, UNICEF, is reporting that half of Ukrainian children have been displaced since February 24.

Please join us in directing metta, loving kindness, toward everyone involved in the conflict in Ukraine. Following are several vetted charitable organizations toward which you may also wish to direct financial assistance.

__________________

Yoga United for Ukraine is a fundraiser created on behalf of Ukrainian children and adolescents with cancer whose essential treatment has been disrupted by war. The campaign was organized by a team of yoga professionals in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and India who are members of the Society for Integrative Oncology's Yoga Special Interest Group. The mission of Yoga United for Ukraine is to help alleviate suffering—the essence of yoga, practicing selfless acts of kindness without expectation of return, coming from a place of whole-hearted love. The group intends to raise US$50,000 by April 15 to assist in the provision of life-saving therapy, supportive care, and safe havens for young Ukrainians with cancer and their families. 

More ways to help

_____________________

We at IAYT stand with all of those who are suffering around the world. May your practices bring you hope and peace.

IAYT has extended the COVID-19 Program Delivery Change for accredited yoga therapy programs. In case you missed it, the below letter, which was recently sent to all program directors, explains the opportunity for IAYT-accredited programs to adapt their curriculum delivery to address the impact of the pandemic on teaching and learning.

_______________

December 23, 2021

Dear Program Director,

The purpose of this email is to provide an update on the IAYT Accreditation COVID-19 Response directive and provide guidance going forward.

As shared in the September 16, 2021, update to program directors, the IAYT accreditation team has gathered information regarding the impact of program delivery changes related to the temporary COVID-19 Response. The resultant data, along with monitoring the progression of the pandemic, informed our decision for the immediate future.

As you recall, our initial COVID-19 Response announcement stated that IAYT accredited Yoga Therapy programs were given the freedom to deliver residential content in the online format as deemed necessary on a temporary basis if programs run under these provisions were completed by January 1, 2023.

We are now extending these provisions as follows:

Programs may make emergency provisions including the delivery of residential content in an online format if the cohort or iteration of the program begins before Jan. 1, 2023. Programs must adhere to the following provisions:

1. The cohort or iteration that begins under these provisions must complete the program in the same timeline as the program was originally accredited or reaccredited.
2. The program provider must be prepared to demonstrate how the educational delivery mode is sufficient to meet the educational competencies and provide adequate quality of training. 

In order to support accredited programs, we will offer a Town Hall meeting to discuss best practices for hybrid and online delivery. This will be scheduled in early 2022.

To help us better understand what you’ve been doing in response to the pandemic, we will be forming a working group that will reach out to you in early 2022 to learn more about your adaptations, issues, concerns, needs and adaptive innovations.

We very much empathize with your situation during this unprecedented time and appreciate the diligent work to support your program’s vitality while remaining committed to the quality of practice of yoga therapy for which IAYT stands. 

Important Reminder: All programs are required to submit an updated Temporary Program Delivery Change COVID19 form. This is due by December 31, 2021. The information will inform our future guidance. If you have already submitted an updated Temporary Program Delivery change COVID 19 form since September 16, 2021, thank you! This does not apply to you.

Sincerely,

Heidi M. Crocker, EdD, DC, C-IAYT
IAYT, Accreditation Manager

The unique challenges of the past 12 months have prompted us all to draw on our strengths and seek support and connection with our communities in new ways. The International Association of Yoga Therapists did the same, and you can see the continual and conscious evolution of the organization reflected in our year’s activities. Below are a few highlights of IAYT’s 2021.

Allyship & Engagement with Other Organizations

Building on our Seva Award partnership with Give Back Yoga Foundation, in early 2021 we initiated a joint effort with Give Back Yoga University to develop and promote support for yoga therapists working with people suffering from long COVID, Well-Being After COVID. We continued this effort with sponsorship of the Wellness After COVID Symposium in May.

Recognizing the gravity of this emerging public health crisis and the contributions yoga therapists can make, IAYT also joined the multi-stakeholder Long COVID Alliance.

IAYT became an organizational member of Accessible Yoga, whose vision of a world where everyone has access to yoga teachings that offer individual empowerment and spiritual awakening complements our own.

We engaged early with Yoga Unify based on their worthy goal of preserving yogic traditions while stewarding evolution.

We were pleased to contribute to Yoga Alliance’s updated Yoga Therapy Policy, a multi-year effort that culminated in a joint statement, with a follow-up webinar and more online events planned for 2022.

Over the year, IAYT’s executive director, management, and volunteers were kept busy representing yoga therapy on podcasts, panels, and conference programs, including the Academy of Integrative Health & Medicine conference, Society for Integrative Oncology conference, Yoga Aid symposium, Accessible Yoga conference, Lifestyle Medicine Summit, Global Yoga Therapy Day, Yoga Therapy Hour podcast, This Is Yoga Therapy podcast, and many others.

Conferences & Events

In 2020, SYTAR was canceled due to COVID. In 2021, IAYT pivoted to provide the first virtual version of the conference since SYTAR began in 2007. The online format translated to record attendance of 950—more than double our recent average—and means that the wide-ranging content is still available to support yoga professionals’ development through June 2022.

Also increasing the accessibility of the conference were discounts for BIPOC individuals—a first for IAYT—and for attendees from countries identified by the World Bank as low or lower-middle income.

For SYTAR 2022—save the date for June 9–11 in Lincolnshire, Illinois—we have implemented a selection committee and scoring system to increase equity and transparency of the session evaluation process. A dynamic group of presenters is already taking shape as a result, and we are eager to share the details in early 2022!

We were also pleased to present the Symposium on Yoga Research virtually in 2021, again with strong attendance. This year’s content was particularly applicable to practicing yoga therapists and students and is also still available for purchase.

Building on the long COVID work mentioned above, in October the organization offered its first IAYT-direct professional training, Supporting Clients with Long COVID: Yoga Therapy Intake, Assessment, & Practices. We will add to this well-attended program with new content in February 2022.

In 2021 we expanded our direct engagement with members through Zoom-based town halls on a range of topics. These sessions included

• Two membership-wide town halls (July and November)

• Four town halls for faculty and program directors of member schools (February, March, October, and November)

• Three up-and-coming yoga therapists meetups for students and newly certified C-IAYTs (January and September)

• Two town halls on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) (at SYTAR in June, as well as in November)

• Two town halls for faculty and program directors of IAYT-accredited programs (February and March)

Strategy & Finances

An in-depth planning process yielded a living strategic plan that will be refined throughout its 3-year implementation timeframe. We gathered feedback during an open comment period this fall and discussed the results during a town hall in in November.

This comprehensive, inclusive plan for 2021–2024 yielded four strategic priorities for IAYT, each of which informs and interacts with the others.

• Of note is the planned completion of organizational DEI competencies slated for late 2021.

• Another key initiative includes the engagement of consulting group Healthcare Collaboratives to help inform yoga therapy’s continued integration with healthcare settings and systems.

• In December, RAINN provided a training for board, staff, and committee volunteers on sexual misconduct and boundary violations. IAYT is committed to offering a similar high-quality training on these topics for members in 2022.

2021 has been a strong year for donations, which are always welcome and which greatly support IAYT’s operations. (Please consider our nonprofit organization in your year-end tax planning!) We are developing a robust fundraising plan for 2022 and beyond.

We saw U.S. membership growth in the Midwestern and Mid-Atlantic regions and international growth including in Israel and the Netherlands associated with the accreditation of training programs in those countries. There are now 67 IAYT-accredited programs in 10 countries. The first individual C-IAYT in Russia was also certified in 2021!

Staff & Board Expansion & Updates

IAYT welcomed three new board members in early 2021, Molly McManus and Hansa Knox, with Robin Rothenberg joining in November.

We’re also thrilled to announce that Marsha Banks-Harold, Janet Caldwell, and Neil Pearson will take seats for a 3-year term in February 2022. These exceptionally qualified members were elected via a newly expanded and revised process of the IAYT Nominations Committee.

We established a new position to support human resources functions and bolster staff support and efficiencies: Beth Whitney-Teeple, previously a member of the certification team, was named IAYT’s first chief of staff.

The small but mighty Communications and Publications Department also expanded with the addition of Associate Editor Alexa Owen. Yoga Therapy Today Editor Laurie Hyland Robertson was named IAYT’s director of communications.

The Accreditation Department welcomed both a new manager in Heidi Crocker and a second Senior Accreditation Specialist, Shanchoy Mahajan.

New to the organizational chart is a DEI staff liaison position; in this role, Danielle Atkinson acts as a facilitator between staff and IAYT’s DEI Task Force.

COVID restrictions eased long enough to enable the IAYT management team to head to Dumas Bay, Washington, in October for a brief retreat. While there, the group took part in a professional development training guided by professionals from All Angles Consulting.

Operational Efficiencies & Improvements

This year, we updated a few of the nuts and bolts that help IAYT to function behind the scenes, with more improvements planned for 2022 and beyond.

A new section of the website, for example, tells the story of IAYT’s DEI engagement and commitment and notes significant organizational events. Members can also access selected town hall recordings here.

Also through iayt.org, our new learning management platform, Kajabi, is serving up conference experiences and trainings. We expect to leverage this robust, easy-to-use solution for additional future programming and content.

Development of the IAYT Certification Exam entered beta-testing this fall. We will build on the success of the current phase 1 with phase 2 beginning in spring 2022.

IAYT has instituted an internal commitment to building and refining standard operating procedures for its many activities.

Policy developments include a board-approved revision of the Accreditation Committee’s bylaws to reflect that group’s evolving role now that the program accreditation process is firmly established.

We’ve also formally established the Member Schools Committee as a new standing committee.

____________________

Thank you for reading—and for being a part of the establishment of yoga therapy as a distinct healing profession!

We took these steps of connecting with Yoga Alliance and releasing this statement in recognition that more unity serves all of those involved professionally in the dissemination of yogic teaching and practices.

_______________

In 2016, Yoga Alliance published a Yoga Therapy Policy that activated a list of restricted words to define the role of Registered Yoga Teachers (RYTs) and Registered Yoga Schools (RYSs), including responsibilities, limitations, and boundaries to protect members and the practitioners they serve. These guidelines are now clearly outlined in the Yoga Alliance Ethical Commitment and Scope of Practice.

The 2016 Yoga Therapy Policy caused confusion among yoga therapists, who felt unable to accurately describe their training and services. With input from its members, the broader yoga community, and IAYT, Yoga Alliance has updated its Yoga Therapy Policy to better articulate shared principles that foster safe and respectful guidelines for RYTs and RYSs. These guidelines no longer restrict the use of certain words, but instead focus on a thorough understanding of and adherence to its Ethical Commitment and Scope of Practice. Yoga Alliance acknowledges and embraces the therapeutic benefits inherent to the practice of yoga and supports members who hold any credential that advances their growth on the path to professionalization.

As a leader in the growing field of yoga therapy, IAYT is also committed to advancing education about yoga therapy, which it considers to be the “professional application of the principles and practices of yoga to promote health and well-being within a therapeutic relationship that includes personalized assessment, goal setting, lifestyle management, and yoga practices for individuals or small groups.” You can find IAYT’s full definition of yoga therapy here .

To support ongoing learning and the important conversations it engenders, we will be co-hosting a series of online workshops exploring yoga and yoga therapy starting in December 2021.

Together, Yoga Alliance and IAYT are committed to unifying members of the yoga community to create greater access to the practice of yoga and validating its benefits within various disciplines, including healthcare. We are pleased to be working alongside one another to further the multitude of avenues for professional and personal growth in the field of yoga.

For questions about Yoga Alliance’s updated Yoga Therapy Policy, contact Yoga Alliance Member Support at info@yogaalliance.org .

In service,
Yoga Alliance and
The International Association of Yoga Therapists

This first offering, to be broadcast initially on October 30, 2021, features Robin Rothenberg, C-IAYT, in a prerecorded intake with a client with long COVID, followed by a live panel discussion and Q&A.

C-IAYTs can earn up to 4 continuing education credits for this professional training.

The imperative to address long COVID

More than 3 million people in the United States alone are already being affected by the long-term effects of COVID-19. Long COVID, also known as post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), is projected to be a huge healthcare concern in the years to come. Many C-IAYTs are seeing people suffering with long COVID in their practices and have been seeking support and resources to inform their approach with these vulnerable clients.

IAYT recognizes this need—and the opportunity for yoga therapists to serve—and is a stakeholder member of the Long COVID Alliance. Earlier in 2021, we offered the Well Being After COVID program in partnership with Give Back Yoga University and sponsored the international symposium Wellness After COVID.

Through these programs and outreach to patient advocacy groups like Body Politic, we know that people suffering from long COVID are intuitively turning to yoga online to alleviate their symptoms. However, individuals seeking yogic practices, such as pranayama, risk harm if they do not work with properly trained yoga professionals.

Program details

A volunteer client agreed to participate in this case-observation event and gave permission for us to share the recording with our membership. The first session was recorded live, with observation by Clare Collins, PhD, RN, C-IAYT. Afterward, Robin and Clare discussed key aspects of the client assessment and the rationale behind the first session’s approach and the home yoga practice.

Following these recordings, a live expert panel will discuss the intake and assessment process, and training participants will have the opportunity to ask questions. The panel will be moderated by Clare and feature Robin alongside Yogacharya Ananda Bhavanani, MD, C-IAYT, Marsha Banks-Harold, C-IAYT, and Felicia Tomasko, RN, C-IAYT.

After just two yoga therapy sessions, the client shared,

“I cannot thank you enough for providing this opportunity to me. I am feeling empowered and experiencing changes already. So many could benefit from this. Thank you for doing this work in the world!”

Our panelists are all currently seeing clients suffering from long COVID, so their input is informed by real-time experience in this space. All participants will receive additional resources, and we anticipate offering follow-up client sessions as a future part of this continuing education program.

Clare is enthusiastic about our Supporting Clients with Long COVID professional training, saying,

“In this well-timed and innovative event, yoga therapists will receive what they may need most for professional growth: the opportunity to observe an experienced yoga therapist work with a client with long COVID and discuss diverse approaches with an expert panel of other yoga therapists. Don’t miss this chance to deepen your expertise!”

Register today to join us for this first-of-its-kind half-day training. We look forward to seeing you there!

When conversations turn to September 11, 2001, it has become common to hear recollections of what people were doing on that day. I, too, can clearly recall that day—and the days and months that followed.

I had left the Pentagon 3 years earlier and was returning to Northern Virginia after spending 2 years in New Mexico and a year at the Balkans Combined Air Operations Center in Italy. After a few weeks to take care of basics like driving my car from my parents’ home in Texas to Virginia and finding a place to live, I had started focusing on the nuances of my job. On September 11, I had been back in the States for almost 3 months, beginning the second of what would be three tours at the Pentagon.

My new position was chief of the plans branch for the U.S. Air Force Headquarters Operations Directorate. On bright, sunny 9/11, my colleagues and I had finished the early-morning banter and settled down to the tasks ahead of us when we received a report that the first tower in New York City had been attacked. After the second tower was attacked, we initiated the tasks required of us as an operations planning office. Shortly afterward, the Pentagon itself was attacked.

At that point our focus changed to supporting Air Force senior leadership and facilitating their evacuation. Three of us went to different floors along the evacuation route to assist. The corridor was filled with smoke, and the alarms were ringing. A couple of times security guards approached me as they were directing people out of the building. Each time they encouraged me to evacuate, but I still had a job to do and couldn’t leave. We eventually got out of the building and left the Pentagon Reservation by helicopter, and I returned hours later to continue my operations planning responsibilities.

It would be more than 35 hours before I had a chance to get a few hours of sleep, and for the first year after the attack our office worked 12-hour shifts, 7 days a week. It was a time of resolve in the midst of uncertainty. Despite the continuous sympathetic nervous system activation, prayers and focused breaths grounded me as I approached each task.

I can vividly recall the sights, sounds, smells, pain, confusion, distress, conviction, determination, and resilience of those times. Everyone doing the best that they could. Immediately caring for others. Preparing to defend. People from across the United States—and the world—asking how they could help, and volunteer organizations like the Red Cross and restaurants setting up outside for months to feed the people working in and around the building.

I have seen similar acts repeated in the midst of tragedy. People coming together to support one another. These are stories of resilience, of helping and being helped.

Seen and unseen scars left by tragedy tell a story of the loss of loved ones, health, a sense of security, faith in systems, or even faith itself. The scars sometimes change our appearance—at any level of our being (koshas). Some of the scars can be debilitating, some result in growth and strength, and some even fade over time.

Through yoga therapy we support clients as they realize, recognize, or discover their own resilience, a power that could manifest in any of the sheaths of being. The resilience might be different for someone recovering from an injury, in chronic pain, in recovery, dealing with depression, or looking for a deeper understanding of yoga. Yoga offers tools to help us stand in our sense of self, find balance, and reframe our mindset in ways that support us as we experience life with all of its struggles, losses, and joys. As yoga therapists, we use and teach those same tools to clients on their journeys.

As I look back on the tragedy and loss of September 11, I am full of gratitude for the sacrifice of so many, from that day to the present. I am still, I check in, I breathe, I remember, and I cherish.

Colonel Marilyn Peppers-Citizen, U.S. Air Force (Retired), PhD, NBC-HWC, C-IAYT, is a strategic planning consultant for IAYT.

Will I have to take the exam even though I’m already a C-IAYT?

Current C-IAYTs—whether they were certified through graduation from an accredited program, PR&E, or the grandparenting process—will not have to take the exam. Once established, the exam will be required of all new C-IAYT applicants and may be required for C-IAYTs who allow their certification to expire.

When will the exam be ready?

Launch is currently projected for 2023. Beta testing of the exam questions will begin in fall 2021; once the results of beta testing are analyzed, we will be able to provide more details on the timeline.

How is the exam being developed?

In January 2019, after a 2-year review of options, IAYT partnered with the test-development firm Kryterion to design and initiate the exam. Volunteer subject matter experts (SME) drawn from IAYT’s membership have helped to ensure that the exam represents the appropriate body of knowledge and is a reliable, fair, and defensible measure.

More than 20 SMEs in yoga therapy practice and education have participated in the exam-development process, including question-writing. They have worked in collaboration with psychometricians from Kryterion, who are trained in the best practices of test development. Questions align with IAYT’s established areas of competency, which are part of the organization’s Educational Standards.

The following steps have been completed (read more in the Member News section of previous issues of Yoga Therapy Today):

1. Job task analysis

2. Blueprint survey

3. Item-writer training

4. Technical review

5. Now we are ready for beta testing!

When will beta testing begin?

Windows for beta exams are typically opened for short times and may be reopened periodically. The first window for IAYT Certification Exam beta testing will be mid-October to late November 2021.

How can I get involved?

If you are interested in being part of the beta-testing process, please Contact Us with your information.

We also gratefully accept donations to help to defray the cost of the exam’s development, which is projected to be approximately $200,000.

The MSC's responsibilities include tasks and events that support our Member Schools throughout the year. The group will work in partnership with the membership manager to fulfill the board's primary charge of supporting IAYT Member Schools and program directors, consistent with the educational competencies, code of ethics, and scope of practice. The committee will continue to work to increase communication among the schools community, including by hosting the regular school town halls and annual Meeting of Schools prior to the Symposium on Yoga Therapy and Research. (The next Meeting of Schools will be online June 16 and 17—watch for details soon.)

The MSC will be composed of volunteers who represent the diversity of our Member Schools, which are located in more than 20 countries. These schools offer self-described yoga therapy programs, specialty programs, and Approved Professional Development (APD) courses. They may also anticipate applying for IAYT accreditation or already have accredited training programs.

MSC members are seated for a 3-year term and can serve no more than two consecutive full terms. All members must be on the faculty and/or staff of an IAYT Member School with current IAYT school and individual memberships. At least half of the committee members will be practicing IAYT-certified yoga therapists (C-IAYTs).

The committee will begin seeking five additional members later this month—please watch for an announcement.

Member Schools Committee Members